Assessment Items from the Plants 2 Small Group

Plants 2 Group: Joan Sharp, Tina Hartney, David Puthoff

Learning Objective:
Compare the roles of photosynthesis and respiration in plants.

Formative Assessment

Small group activity:

CO2 has been labeled by 14C and taken in through the stomata of a mature leaf. Working in groups of 3 to 4, diagram and label the potential pathway and processes the carbon atom undergoes from introduction to either:
A. storage in the root as starch, or
B. incorporation into a sugar with later release as a gas.

Be sure to show and identify molecules that 14C could become part of.


Clicker Question:

For each plant structure, chose the best answer option
  1. leaf mesophyll cell
  2. xylem vessel element
  3. root cell
  4. below ground germinating seed
  5. above ground portion of a young seedling

Answer Options:
  1. photosynthesis only
  2. respiration only
  3. both photosynthesis and respiration
  4. neither photosynthesis or respiration

Summative Assessment

Multiple Choice – Two Tier:

Treatment 1: light/no water (petri dish of seeds)
Treatment 2: light/water (petri dish with healthy young seedlings)
Treatment 3: No light/water (petri dish with yellowish young seedlings- taller than treatment 2)

Order the dry mass from lowest to highest.
a. Treatment 1, 2, 3
b. Treatment 2, 3, 1
c. Treatment 3, 1, 2
d. Treatment 3, 2, 1
e. Treatments are equal, i.e. all have the same dry mass.

Explain the rationale for your choice.